January 2008

• There is some controversy in Virginia about whether FOIA requests need to be made in writing or can be submitted verbally. January 31, 2008
• Open records uncover massive amounts of misspent funds in the Detroit School District of Michigan. January 30, 2008
• Apparently in Washington, even if it's written on public time using a public computer and sent from a public e-mail address, if it's not about public business it's not a public record. Something is wrong with this picture. January 29, 2008
• Naughty, naughty: City funds helped pay for mayor's rendezvous. January 26, 2008. Meanwhile, in California, It's about a lot more than sex. January 27, 2008
• South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds shows that he is no friend of transparency in government:
  "I do not agree with a presumption that everything is open," Rounds said during a news conference with newspaper editors. “I get concerned with it comes to saying everything that happens in government is open." January 24, 2008
• Measure exempts too many records from public access, January 24, 2008
• As Sunshine Activist John Wasburn learned through his open records request to the Governor's Office in Texas, the staffers there are a rude bunch. January 23, 2008
• One public employee learns a hard lesson on what types of e-mail are appropiate to send from work. January 23, 2008
• The city of Daytona Beach, FL is taking steps to make public records more accessible. January 22, 2008
• Remember, if you are a public employee, your e-mails are public too. January 20, 2008
• It dosen't matter who you are, sometimes people just don't want to turn over public records. January 20, 2008
• Former Bradley County Circuit Judge John Hagler's embarrassing audio tape has been ruled not a public record. January 18, 2008
• Sheriff's office e-mail purge catches some deputies off guard, January 17, 2008
• This is a big break for open records activists in Texas.
  The speculative and unproven threat of identity theft is insufficient to exempt date-of-birth information from disclosure," the court said. January 17, 2008
• Court keeps information on military trials private. January 17, 2008
• Using open records to keep tabs on safety. January 16, 2008
• UCSF refuses to release outside review of finances. Don't you just love the word 'refuse' in this context? Somehow the officials at UCSF are able to conveniently forget that public money = public documents = it's not their choice to release the records if the public wants to see them. January 16, 2008
• Follow one man through what open records turned up about him. January 13, 2008
• A rundown of the big FOIA cases in Arizona over the last year. January 12, 2008
• Some instances of non-disclosure of public records are worse than others. January 10, 2008
• An early test of the new federal FOIA laws: Federal Wildlife Enforcement Records Sought in Lawsuit. January 10, 2008
• Citizens in Arizona are standing up for their right to be heard. January 9, 2008
• Some in North Dakota are trying to turn away from transparency. January 8, 2008
• The public access counselor in Indiana does not have the authority to fine agencies when they are found lacking in compliance to Open Records laws. As the Palladium-Item puts it:

• South Dakota is on the move toward improving open records laws. January 7, 2008
• Even after the hue and cry from public safety and open records advocates, NASA's release of avaition safety records is unsatisfying. January 7, 2008
• The Olympian in Washington state has some serious critism about the state Supreme Court's recent Open Records descision. January 6, 2008
• Survey: Open-door law needs teeth January 3, 2008
• 2008 gets off to an open start. January 1, 2008

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